Life is better when you scream it
by biancarriero
Summary: The life, death and struggles of a girl named Dahlia.


_Life is better when you scream it_

_Birth, life and then, well, death, ofcourse._

_(prologue)_

Ever notice how people always say that 10 seconds before they die they see their lives flash before their eyes? Well, it's true. Now you are going to sit there and tell me: "Well how can they tell you, they are dead" and blah blah blah. Spare me, I've heard it billions of times. Well for you information, some people live to tell the story of the glowing white tunnel they see just before they die. Now this tunnel, which leads to either heaven or hell, I've seen it... I've seen it a couple of times. Well technically, I've been down it only once. Yup, that's right, I walked through the tunnel on July 6th 2080. So enough about how I died. Maybe you should know the rest. Well, my name is Dahlia, I've lived, I've loved and I've died.

_Chapter 1_

_The beginning or as I like to call it: Dahlia and Clay_

_"Dahlia, get up it's time for school! Please don't be late, or you know, I will have to punish you."_

As Dahlia got up, she checked her alarm clock.

_"7h",_ she said out loud. "_WHYYYYYYYYYYYY_", she cried. It had been a long summer, but she still didn't want it to end. Like every teenager, Dahlia enjoyed summer, because of the stress free state she could be in. But, she didn't enjoy it as much as many other teens did. Because, you see, D had lost one of her best friends. Yes, these past 2 years had been ups and downs for D, but she had found someone to rely on. She had found a very close knit relationship with her female teacher. Her and D had shared many special lunch breaks talking about their lives and their problems. It seemed that Elise (D's teacher) had been what she'd always been looking for in a friendship. She cared, she listed and most of all she helped her cope with her many problems. But the only problem was that E couldn't keep up the relationship when D left the school that same year. Let me explain. You see, where D lived, High School began with grade 7. But her school had what you people call a Junior High. So D met E in Junior High. She was her teacher in Science. So therefore, when D left the school in grade 8, E couldn't keep up with her. So D had slowly went into denial followed by a depression. Until she finally went to visit her psycologist and everything had been controled. So this left D without any friends and in a new school.

_"Dahlia, you are going to be late. NOW GET UP!"_, her mother screamed from the kitchen.

_"I'M UP MOM_".

About a half hour later, D was on the bus to school. This was her first day so she had dressed to impress, taken a shower and of course watched her hair, like she did every morning. She finally got there at 9h. Classes started at 9h30, so she roamed around and went to her locker. This was her first day in High School, so she really wanted to make a good impression, so she went to class about 5 minutes earlier than everyone else. Anything so she wouldn't have to face her classmates. Her first class was with a teacher named Clayton. Clayton Aiken. Apparently this teacher had a really good reputation so D was very excited to be in his class. D loved to have a good challenge, but most of all, loved to work with passionate people. As she walked up the stairs, one of her friend's from science class came up to her.

_"Hey D, what's up been up girl, who haven't seen much of each other lately? Is everything okay with you?". _Boy did she hate it when C spoke to her. She was one of those friends that always hung around for no reason. D never spoke to her... well maybe just when she was in school.

"_I've just been busy Chris, i'm sorry. I just haven't had the time for anyone lately." _As she said that, the door opened at the top of the staircase and someone let them in.

_"Well i've got to go C, I'll catch you later I guess.", _D said as she nearly ran away from her. D oppened her agenda to see what class she was looking for.

"_A-207... AH BINGO", _she said to herself quietly.

As she entered, no one was there. No students nor the teacher. She took the list of class and checked where her name was and sat at her place. She put her books that were in her arms on her desk and fell asleep.

" _Why hello there, you must be Dahlia. I'm Clayton. Nice to meet you_.", said Clayton with a big smile. D was confused, where was she? Who was this man in front of her grinning and being nice.

"_Umm hi... hello...coughs who are you? And where am I?",_ said D a little uneasy, Clayton laughed and told her that she was in her science class and that he was the teacher. D smiled and felt embarassed that she had fallen asleep even before the class had started. As Clay left, D sat in her seat feeling free. Before sitting down at his desk, Clay turned one last time and smiled at D. She saw herself smile for the first time in a long time.

_Chapter 2_

_From down under_

_**Part 1**_

As the students started to enter the class, D was still staring at her teacher. What captivated her so much? Was it because he spoke to her? Was it because he was incredibly good looking? D shook her head and tried to focus on her notebook.

_D what's wrong with you, FOCUS. Stop thinking about him and focus on what you came here to do. This is nonsense and you know it._

The bell finally rang which took D out of her daydreaming. Class started with Clayton telling the students all the rules in his classrom and the curriculum of the year. Then the students had to present themselves so that the other students could get to know each other better and so that Clayton knew a little more too. It was D's turn, she cleared her throat and...

"_Hi...umm... I'm Dahlia, I'm 14.". _With that said, she sat back down.

"_Hi Dahlia_", said Clay, "_So tell me more about yourself_". _What was there to say? That I was insecure, vunerable_, _mentally unstable? What kind of questions is he asking me? Lord, I need to get out of here_

"_Well. ummm, well I'm 14 and I love to play soccer_", said D very fast so she wouldn't have to humiliate herself anymore than she already had. Finally everyone had passed and Clay could resume his explaination. You know, first days are always about explaining everything. That is why D hated first days so much. She found them useless, because all the teachers demanded the same things.

_Respect, respect and oh well what do you know, RESPECT. What is the point of telling us that over and over and over again._

"_Okay class, I will pass each of you a loose leaf with questions on it. This is not a test, I would just like to see how much all of you know. It's more of a general knowledge type of quiz. Please lift your hand when you are done answering all of the questions. If the bell rings you may leave, but please leave your paper on the side of your desk. Have a good day_."

Clay passed out the sheets and D concentrated on answering all of them the best she could. For some reason, she thought this was her moment to prove herself and show him that she was a very good student. D liked to know that her teachers thought she was hardworking and smart, for some weird reason. In the past years, she had been teased at school and made fun of, because she wasn't like all the other students. Therefore, she used school as a motive to make herself worth the while. In her mind, she was only good in school. She found herself ugly, fat and all of those things teenagers imagine they are. But, with school, it was a whole different story. She could pull those 90s and then when people used to tell her that she was great and a very good student, she would deny, but deep down she knew that she had done a good job. Because D wasn't one to show off her grades or anything of that matter. Oh no, she did not like to feel superior to anyone. Mainly because she was too insecure to do so.

"_Psssst, J, do you know the answer to question #6?_", she whispered so he wouldn't hear her cheat. She looked around to make sure no one heard her talk to J.

_"D, why would you want the answer? This quiz doesn't even count. It doesn't matter what you write_.", said J a little puzzled. J didn't understand what the heck she wanted from him. He looked around and half the class was just talking, not even paying attention to the sheet of paper in front of them. They obviously couldn't care less and D shouldn't either.

_"Listen, J, can you just shut up and give me the answer if you have it. I don't care if it doesn't count. You know I take school very seriously and this is a first impression. This is critical."_

J couldn't believe D was getting agressive about this stupid quiz. He gave her the answer and watched as she tried desperatly to finish up the quiz before the bell rang. The bell finally rang and all the students rushed the door to finally leave this damn class. J told D he was leaving too and he made sure she was ok.

"_I'm fine J, don't worry so much. I'm just gonna finish this one question and then i'm coming to meet up with you. I'll see you in a bit", _D shot back really fastJ finally left D alone with her sheet of paper. He chuckled just remembering D's face when she asked him for the question. Meanwhile, D was still in her class trying to desperately finish that one question. The second bell finally rang, which indicated that there was around 5 minutes left to get to your next class. At this point Clay was closing the door so he could get to his next class too. D heard the door close and dropped her pencil and ran to the door.

_" Open up, open up ! I'm still here and I can't get out.", _yelled D. Clay finally came back, put his key in the door and opened it for D.

_"Thank you so much... I... I was so affraid I was going to stuck here for a long time."_

_"Oh it's not a problem, but you do know that the doors never lock from the inside... just so you know for the next time", _Clay said as he gave her a wink and left the door open for her to leave. D just stood there blushing. How could she of not tried to even open the door. She gathered her things and left as quickly as she could. Forgetting to even say bye to Clay.

_**Part 2**_

_"What took you so long D, I've been waiting here for like 5 minutes, nearly missed my last course !", _said J as they were looking for a table at the cafeteria.

"_Oh don't even get into that, I swear, I've had quite the humilating day.". _They finally found a spot and sat down together. J was D's friend that she had met in the science program they both had been in since grade 7. They were quite different, but they seemed to have a close bond. When J's bestfriend B had left in grade 8, her and D got alot closer. Incase everyone is a little lost, D is now in grade 9.

"_So tell me, what happened with you earlier? What took so freaking long?_", said J taking a mouthfull of salad.

_"Oh god, it was horrible. You know how I stayed to complete the quiz. Well the freaking teacher was leaving and totally forgot about me! So I ran to the door, 'cause I was affraid I would be locked in. Well, turns out the doors never lock from the inside. So I kind of had a little bit of heated activity going in my head for no reason_.", said D a little embarassed about the whole sotry.

J waited until D had finished and nearly spat out the food she had in her mouth.

"_You know D, stuff like that only happens to you. Want to know why? Because you try to impress teachers too much, it's like you want to have a special relationship with them."_

D was starting to get mad. She hated when people told her that, because they thought she was a suck-up. Which she wasn't. She just liked to talk and learn more about the subject. She enjoyed adult conversations, which was something her friends couldn't provide for her.

"_Shut up J, you know that's not true. I've explained it to you a million times. Don't get me mad, please"!_. At this point, D was pretty mad at everything and everyone. She knew she made a fool of herself and she just couldn't stop thinking about it. It was times like these that she rather be in her room, listening to music and just being alone. The problem was, D thought too much. She thought about everything at least twice before saying. She thought about everything at least 3 times before doing it. Let's say D was just a little paranoid.

_"Okay Okay, someone is mad ! I'll let that go then, won't I !", _said J a little scared of the reaction she had just got from D. "_Sometimes you are just so, how do you say it... ummm... weird? But hey, whatever floats your boat D. I won't get involved_."

D gave J a dirty look and just continued eating her sandwich. _Who cares about what everyone thinks. They don't understand; they'll never understand_

They finally finished eating and exited the caf. They went to their lockers and put their bags back in and headed outside. It was a rather nice day. Not too cool yet there was a little there was a little breeze. It was a big change from those really really really hot humid days that they had experienced in the summer. As they walked around the school, J couldn't help but think about Clay.

"_Hey J, you know that teacher Clay?"_

_"Yeah, what about him?", _said J with a sigh. She knew that D liked Clay... but now it was getting out of hand. She kept talking about him non-stop. She was about to say something, but D interrupted her.

"_I mean, I don't know if it's just me, but he seems kind of gay-ish... Don't you find? He's got that piercing in his ear and then all those rings. I don't know dude..."_

_"Ummm... and why should we care? I mean if he's gay, good for him. But you are right, he does look gay. And with that hair... !". _Woah! Pause the story. Let me explain this whole hair and piercing story. You see, Clay had many rings on his fingers, a piercing on the top of his ear and his hair was, well let's just say not normal. He was young and loved to show his originality.

"_Yeah, I know, that hair is pretty freaking weird. I wonder why it's like that?", _said D a little amused.

"_I don't know D and I really don't care, no offenc._", said J a little tired of hearing about this Clay guy. If there was one thing J hated about D it was that she never EVER stopped talking about her teachers. She knew that D wanted to become and teacher and that they fascinated her, but enough was ENOUGH! The bell finally rang, breaking their silence and they headed back to school. It was third period which meant they had robotics together. They went to their lockers seperately and met up to walk to class together. They got a little lost, but managed to get there before classes started. They entered the class, looked around and noticed it was the same as their science class.

_"Now how could we have gotten lost D, we were just here like 3 hours ago_", whispered J. They took their seats and waited until the teacher finally came. The class started with a slideshow of different robots they would have to build. D wasn't really focused on the slideshow. Her eyes wandered around the class she had once been in with Clay. As she turned her head to look through the window (which gave to an empty class of computers) she noticed Clay was sitting there. She stared at him until the teacher put the lights back on and continued the presentation. When she knew no one was finally looking, she turned her head back again. But this time, Clay wasn't there. She felt some sort of disappointment and decided it was better to follow the course E (her robotics teacher) was giving.


End file.
